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The Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect Leader and Saviour. He is our matchless Master, Model and Mentor. A look at His life and leadership style shows love, the foundation of all other Christian and leadership characteristics, was the prominent of His characteristic. Therefore, love should also be our gauge and guide. Two, love should be our model and measure even if we do not know what direction to follow, what counsel to give, what decision to take at a particular time. Three, love should be our passion and power. The passion of our heart, the pursuit of our life, the power of our leadership style should be the kind of love that characterised the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The greatest of all the qualities, gifts, abilities and skills needed for life and leadership is love. The Word of God tells us the essence, importance and indispensability of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) as we lead, preach, exhort and help others to grow in the Lord and ministry. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” Love does not behave in an “unseemly” manner. It “seeketh not her own”. Rather, it puts the good of others first, it puts the growth and development of others first. Love “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up”. There is no pride in love in spite of its possessor’s skills, abilities, position, privileges, authorities, etc.

The kind of love God demands from us is one, supreme love for God our Creator, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the One that loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for our salvation. Two, sacrificial love for sinners because Jesus Christ died for them. Three, sanctifying love for believers, as we help, develop, train, disciple and mature other believers. Four, submissive love for God’s Word. The weapon in our hand by which a sinner will be converted, by which the believer will be matured, and by which we will prepare ourselves and other people of God for glory, for heaven, for rapture is the Word of God. Therefore, we need to have submissive love for that Word. Five, it should be sincere love for the work of God. We need to have real, sincere love for the work the Lord has given us to do.

Besides, our love must be practically compassionate. If people are suffering, be compassionate; if people are going through some pain and pressure, be compassionate. Do not rush to crush others or to speak against them; rather, be compassionate. Two, we must be considerate with what others are going through. It is when you talk to the people, or ask them questions that you know their backgrounds and problems or challenges. Also, let your love be corrective and constant like the love of the Lord Jesus who, “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). Five, it must be conciliatory. When James and John came to Him with a selfish request and the other ten heard it, and were filled with indignation, Jesus reconciled them. And before He left them, He prayed for their unity. Six, it must also be constructive. You cannot be said to be constructive if you are not thoughtful, if you jump into a situation before you know what to do. Our love should be contagious. If, in a family, the parents are in love and the children observe them, those children are going to love one another because they’d never seen their daddy and mummy arguing or fighting; their parents’ love is going to be passed on to the children. So, let your love be so visible and contagious that others will see and, in turn, pass it on to others.

Selected from Becoming A Successful Christian Leader by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi. Copies are available for sale in all Life Press Bookshops. Contact the Deeper Life Bible Church nearest to you.